TODO not sure about any of this
The basic word order is VSO, but a topic can optionally appear at the beginning of the sentence before the verb. If a topic is included that isn't a place or time or non-third-person pronoun, it uses the topic marker 'e. The order of subject and object can be changed; which noun has which role is generally determined by animacy. When necessary for disambiguation, noun phrases can be preceded by prepositions to mark their role in the sentence; prepositions for core cases are optional. Generally, a particle is placed before the verb indicating the tense/aspect.
Sentences that equate two noun phrases have the form 'e topic go̬uo̬ other-noun-phrase.
Other sentences that in English would use the verbs to be or to have use one of the tense markers gwe (present and past tense), va̬e (past tense things known to no longer be true), or bâê (future, conditional, and generic) without a verb. When used with a single noun phrase, it's an existential construction. When used with two noun phrases (possibly one of which is a topic), it indicates location or possession ("have"), depending on what makes sense. When used with a noun phrase and an adjective, indicates that the noun has the specified property.
When talking about something that's generally true of all members of a class, the construction ra̬o (topic) bâê (property) is used.
Imperative sentences start with a verb. Non-imperative sentences may have a particle before the verb indicating the tense and aspect. Any of the particles that can be used in sentences about being can be used for an imperfective aspect, indicating either that the action is in the background or that the speaker encountered it when it was already in progress. Bâê can also be used for habitual actions. For the perfective aspect, 'i̬ precedes the verb when there's no topic for verbs marked vol. in the lexicon.